Kockums, Chicago Bridge & Iron, Wormald International and the Australian Industry Development Corporation joined forces to create the Australian Submarine Corporation in August 1985 to tender and, once successful, design and build the new fleet of submarines for the RAN. ASC was subsequently chosen in 1987 as the prime contractor for the design, manufacture and delivery of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) fleet of six Collins Class submarines. The RAN's Submarine School (where ASC assists in the training of submariners and RAN submarine maintainers) opened at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia in July 1992.
ASC has been wholly-owned by the Australian government since 2000. In 2005, ASC was awarded the role of Shipbuilder for the Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) project. These are the most advanced and complex warships ever built in Australia and are being constructed at ASC’s state-of-the art shipbuilding facility, ASC South, located at Osborne in South Australia.
ASC is the lead Shipbuilder for the AWD Alliance, which is made up of ASC, the Department of Defence representing the Australian Government, and Raytheon Australia as the mission systems integrator.
